A wonderful group of Wittenberg alumni, friends and members of the class of 2015 gathered in Mellon Park – Pittsburgh, to enjoy music which is part of a 
series titled Bach, Beethoven and Brunch. We had the brunch nailed, a wonderful spread furnished by all alumni attending. The music was our background entertainment as alumni connected, and reconnected as several have just relocated to the area. At one point, a few attendees decided to relocate their chairs as they knew they would not hear most of the concert over our ‘Tiger Up’ cheers, our welcomes and our constant chatter as we shared stories about our college days with ‘Tree, Trent, King and Didi!’
It was the music, melon at Mellon that brought us all together again in Pittsburgh, however, it is still all about the people, the passion and as I am learning…the place may not matter as long as you have Wittenberg in your heart!
On to Philly!
Linda
PS We did not sing the Alma Mater!
Our Park City/Salt Lake City Witt Nation happy hour was a great success. We had a great turn out of many alumni living close by, aswell as an alumna who drove 150 miles to meet us, one alumna visiting from San Diego, and another visiting from the United Arab Emirates. We had classes from 1967 to 1999 represented and a few future tigers attending as well. It was great to visit, share some laughs about college days, and meet new friends sharing the common bond of Wittenberg.
Thanks so much, and TIGER UP!!
Lara Rude ’93
What’s up Witt Nation? This is my second year on the tour, and I can tell you that I feel like I have heard just about everything
from tons of alumni. But I thought the story that Paige Knapp ’90 and Addie Olander ’84 was defintely another unique story. Paige was telling me that her husband and her had met at Witt and she came from Huntington, WV and he was from Detroit. But they both play tennis, and her husband was also telling me about how he ended up in a boot, playing tennis. This is what spawned the awesome story from her about Addie. Paige was telling me that she was playing tennis against Addie one night at their local athletic club, and they were chatting in between points and realized they knew a lot of the same people, even though they were about 6 years a part from one another. They then realized that they had very similar interests, and had almost the same personalities. Addie then asked Paige where she went to school, and Paige responded with a small liberal arts school called Wittenberg, and Addie immediately had said no way! I went there too! There in lies a very common Witt run-in. I personally have had plenty of these encounters as well, and that is just something that happens all the time it seems like. For instance, today, we were leaving Melt (grilled cheese restaurant in Lakewood) and we saw two straight cars with Witt stickers on their cars, and we immediately stopped walking and ran up to the cars to say hey (typical Witt move) one was a parent of an incoming freshman and the other was actually Addie, which was awesome! Even though we may be smaller than other colleges, we all seem to have common ground, as well as that Witt spirit and personality. This is something that all of us have inside of us, and that we all value deeply, and what really makes us a unified Witt Nation.
It was also great to see Mike “Uncle Mike” Senich in town, even though he is from Midland, Texas! He was here competing in a few senior tennis matches! (Mike was a 4-time All-American for Witt)
Hope everyone enjoyed their time at Cleveland Yachting Club, and a special thanks to Rob Weible for hosting us at CYC!
One love…Sam
Well, today’s Witt Nation stop brought us to Cleveland Heights, where myself and crew mates Sarah Matesich and Sam Stough posted up at the “Winking
Lizard” to host the first stop of the Witt Nation tour in Cleveland. The event was a true success as with Alums and future Tigers came together to share old memories and to cast a light on the future of incoming Tigers. It was truly great to see old friends and to recant great memories with Hans Rydquist 04′ and Jim Kelley 04′ of our pastime at Wittenberg. It was also a joy to see Gabrielle Bell 15′ who I was able to meet during a recruiting visit to her High School some two years ago!!! Her sheer excitement was pouring out as she showed off her freshmen schedule to me and others in attendance. It was pretty cool sight to see. Another highlight was spending time speaking with Bill Steinbrink 64′ as we shared stories about College Football Hall of Famer Coach Bill Edwards and the tremendous impact he had on the lives of students at Wittenberg.
As a whole, this Witt Nation stop brought back all the memories and feelings that gave me the assurance that Wittenberg is truly a special place. Each and every Alumni in attendance had there single shining moment in which their experience at Wittenberg changed there lives forever. Well folks it been a long day for brother Gresham and my crew mates. It’s time to dim the lights and call on the sandman. Deuces!!!
P.S. Will be at the Cleveland Yacht Club tomorrow at 5:30pm if your in the area come see us!!!!
Gresh
P.S.S- Pictures for this event are coming soon!
Witt Nation Boston 2011 was held at Sacco’s Bowl Haven in Davis Square right outside of Boston. Wittenbergers – alumni, current students, and friends – traveled from all parts of the city and suburbs for some candlepin bowling (and Flatbread’s pizza). This variation of bowling originated in and is common up here in New England – and I learned that the rules are much different than that of traditional bowling. Peter Kvetko ’95 did a fantastic job explaining the game and helping us keep score. Even though the event was new, the Wittenberg comaraderie wasn’t. We had a great time! As usual when a bunch of Tigers get together. Stories were told about Wittenberg professors – new and old, dorms – current and gone (which Firestine hall?), Greek life, social events, athletics, and that freshman year spent adjusting to college described so well by Mandy Fagan ’14. One of my favorite aspects of Wittenberg is that it stays true to itself. No matter the year, location, or group of Tigers in which you find yourself, connecting and reminiscing about Wittenberg is always a positive, welcoming, familiar experience. Even over an unfamiliar game with tiny bowling balls, stick-thin bowling pins, three frame turns, and no possible way to get a strike! Thanks Boston alumni for the amazing Witt Nation event! I’m looking forward to getting together again soon. I’m thinking Witt Nation combined with Red Sox Nation…anyone want to go to a Sox game?
Ann Bixel ’05
Yet another great WittNation event at the Schuster Center in Dayton. Meeting so many people with a Wittenberg connection is the best part of our travels.
The highlight of the evening other than the wonderful food was listening to the first year adventures of Gregg Parr ’80. Learning the Wittenberg is not actually a Greek university made for some good laughs had by all.
We are all looking forward to more great events with Wittenbergers of all ages next week in Cleveland.
Tiger up!
Matt Overturf ’11
It was a hopping evening at the Graeter’s event in West Chester, OH. We had a wonderful turn out of incoming students, parents and alumni from the Cincinnati area. The weather couldn’t have been better for this ice cream social. As a young girl, 
going to Graeter’s was a big deal and meeting Chip Graeter ’86 and hearing about the history of his family business was inspiring. I am really looking forward to the Columbus event where we will be able to watch them make ice cream on site!
Incoming students talked over ice cream about class schedules, dorm accessories, roommate matches, and the excitement of meeting more of their future classmates. I imagine we will see the Haralamos family ’15 on move in day wearing their new Witt Nation t-shirts. That is the great thing about Witt, you don’t have to be an alum to love this place! Hard to believe that there are 35 days until they arrive on campus.
Sarah Matesich ’08 ( a.k.a. SMAT)
Admission Counselor
The 2011 Witt Nation tour has o
fficially begun with a spectacular event in Springfield, OH! All Wittenberg alumni, staff, faculty, students, and parents in attendance were in great company. We were privileged to meet, and welcome to the Witt family, several members of this year’s freshman class of 2015. As an alum myself, it is extremely cool to see young people at the same point in their lives that I was just a handful of years ago. They are eager, excited, nervous, hopeful. They are, some of them, moving away from home. They are growing up. Wittenberg will be that home away from home for these young men and women whether they realize it now or not.
Those of us on the Witt Nation road crew are very fortunate to be able to visit and interact with so many of these students over the next few weeks, the future of Wittenberg.
A special thanks to Alicia Hupp and the Hupp family for hosting our event at the Springfield Polo Club. The grounds provided a wonderful backdrop for eating, socializing, and some dancing! Thanks as well goes out to Witt Free, a band made up of Wittenberg professors, who provided the classic rock sound that perfectly complemented the dessert reception.
Witt Nation Welcome is underway, and we created a lot of momentum in Springfield to carry us on to Cincinnati tomorrow evening. Once again, welcome to our newest Tigers!
Stefan Diehm ’08
Assistant Director Alumni Relations
Lots of love!!
Ashley Petersen ’07
